Laser Resurfacing in London 2026. What It Costs, What the Evidence Says, and Who It Suits
Last updated September 2026. Written for The Wellness, Marylebone. Every clinical figure below carries its source.
Laser resurfacing in London runs from about £250 for a light non-ablative session to £2,200 for ablative treatment of the face, neck and decolletage, and the honest range for a serious course sits between £850 and £2,250. The evidence supports it for texture, fine lines and sun damage, with one important caveat that most clinic pages leave out. At The Wellness a doctor's consultation comes first, £250 on video or £350 in person, and is credited in full against whatever you go on to have, because the wrong platform on the wrong skin is the single biggest reason laser disappoints.
Take the free laser suitability check and a doctor will tell you within one working day whether resurfacing is likely to suit your skin, or whether something else would serve you better.
The question worth asking before the price
Almost every laser page in London opens with a machine. Fraxel, CO2RE, UltraClear, Lutronic, PicoSure. Naming the platform is a real signal of expertise, and clinics are right to do it, but it answers a question nobody actually has. The buyer does not want a laser. They want smoother texture, or fewer visible marks, and they have no way to judge which wavelength gets them there.
The useful question is narrower. What is actually wrong with the skin, and does resurfacing address that specific thing. Rough texture, fine lines and photodamage respond to resurfacing. Larger patches of pigment often do not, and can be made worse. A visible vessel is a different problem with a different laser. Skin that darkens after any inflammation needs a more careful setting than skin that does not, and sometimes needs a different plan entirely. None of that is visible from a price list, which is why the order matters more than the machine.
What laser resurfacing actually does
Resurfacing works by removing or heating columns of skin in a controlled way, so the wound-healing response lays down new collagen as it repairs. Ablative lasers, carbon dioxide at 10,600nm and erbium at 2,940nm, remove tissue. Non-ablative fractional lasers heat the dermis while leaving the surface largely intact. The trade is straightforward. Ablative treatment does more in fewer sessions and asks for more recovery and carries more risk. Non-ablative treatment asks for very little recovery and needs a course to get there.
The evidence sits behind both. A 2025 systematic review and meta analysis of randomised trials in Lasers in Medical Science supports fractional and ablative resurfacing for texture and photodamage. That review also carries the caveat worth knowing, which is that most trials in this field compare one laser against another rather than against no treatment at all. So the literature is good at telling you which laser outperforms which, and less good at telling you the size of the effect against simply doing nothing. Anyone quoting you a single percentage improvement for resurfacing is quoting further than the evidence goes.
What it costs in London
Published prices, gathered in September 2026.
sk:n lists CO2RE resurfacing at £925 for a half face or the hands and £2,200 for face, neck and decolletage. Their Fraxel pricing runs £850 for a half face or hands and £1,575 for face and neck. PHI Clinic on Harley Street starts UltraClear resurfacing from £1,500 and Secret Pro from £700. London Premier Laser lists PicoSure Pro at £1,390 for a full face. The Skin to Love Clinic starts Clear and Brilliant from £325 and Fraxel Dual from £250. At the very top of the market, Cadogan Clinic and Dr Rita Rakus publish no prices at all and quote on consultation.
Two things follow from that spread. First, a £250 session and a £2,200 session are not the same treatment at different prices, they are different depths of treatment, and comparing the numbers without comparing the depth tells you nothing. Second, the clinics that publish nothing are not necessarily the most expensive, but you cannot plan around them.
At The Wellness, laser programmes for resurfacing start from £1,250 for one area in a single session, £2,950 for the face across three sessions with aftercare and a doctor review, and £5,500 for face, neck and decolletage across a full course with a skincare plan and a review at every stage. Every one of those is confirmed after a doctor has examined your skin, not before, and the consultation is credited against it.
Ask what resurfacing would cost for your skin, or email team@thewellnesslondon.com.
Who it suits, and who it does not
Resurfacing suits someone with rough texture, fine lines, enlarged pores or sun damage, whose skin does not routinely darken after inflammation, who can take the recovery time the depth requires, and who understands they are buying a graded improvement rather than a different face.
It suits someone less well, or not at all, in several situations. If your skin reliably marks after a spot or a scratch, the risk of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation rises and the settings have to come down, sometimes to the point where a different treatment is the better answer. If you have melasma, resurfacing is not the treatment and can provoke it. If you are on isotretinoin or recently were, healing is altered and you need a longer gap and a specific conversation. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, elective laser waits. If you have a keloid history, ablative resurfacing needs real caution. If you are tanned or using self-tan, treatment waits until that has gone.
A doctor establishes those things by examining you and asking, which takes twenty minutes and is the reason our assessment exists as a separate, cheaper thing than a treatment.
Downtime, honestly
Non-ablative fractional treatment usually means redness for a day or two, sometimes a sandpaper texture for a few days, and normal life the next morning.
Ablative resurfacing is a different proposition. Expect several days of significant redness, swelling for the first two, and peeling or crusting through the first week. Full settling of redness can take weeks. The risks that matter are post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, prolonged erythema and, rarely, scarring or infection. Those risks are higher in darker skin and higher again if the aftercare is not followed. Any clinic that describes ablative resurfacing as a lunchtime treatment is not describing ablative resurfacing.
The honest way to choose is backwards from your calendar. Tell the doctor how many days you can actually take, and let the plan follow that rather than the other way round.
How many sessions
For ablative resurfacing, often one session, sometimes two, spaced months apart. For non-ablative fractional, a course of three spaced four to six weeks apart is the usual shape, and some protocols run longer. Collagen remodelling continues for months after the last session, so the result you have at four weeks is not the result you will have at six months.
Frequently asked questions
Is laser resurfacing worth it? For rough texture, fine lines and sun damage, the evidence supports it and most people are pleased. It is worth it if your expectations match graded improvement in skin quality. It is not worth it if you are expecting it to lift or reshape anything, which is a different category of treatment entirely.
Which is better, ablative or non-ablative? Neither in the abstract. Ablative does more per session and costs more recovery and carries more risk. Non-ablative does less per session with almost no recovery. The right one depends on your skin type, your diagnosis and how many days you can take off, which is why it is a decision made after an examination rather than from a price list.
Can I have laser resurfacing on darker skin? Yes, with the platform and the settings chosen for your skin type. Darker skin carries a higher risk of pigment change after treatment, so the wavelength, the energy and the interval all change, and some platforms are ruled out. Your skin type is recorded at the assessment and drives the choice.
How long do the results last? Resurfacing does not stop ageing or sun damage, so the improvement it produces sits on top of whatever happens next. Photoprotection is the single biggest factor in how long it holds, and it is the least glamorous part of every plan we write.
Do I need a referral? No. You can book a doctor assessment directly.
What if the doctor says resurfacing is not right for me? Then that is the answer, and your assessment fee is credited against whatever is right instead. For a meaningful share of people the honest answer is a topical plan, a different modality, or photoprotection and time.
Start with the diagnosis
Take the free laser suitability check and a doctor will read your answers and reply within one working day. Or book a consultation with a doctor at The Wellness in Marylebone, minutes from Baker Street, £250 on video or £350 in person, credited in full against whatever you go on to have.
Email team@thewellnesslondon.com or call +44 20 3951 3429.
This article is for information and does not constitute medical advice or a diagnosis. Laser treatment carries risks including pigment change, prolonged redness and, rarely, scarring. Every laser treatment at The Wellness follows an assessment by a GMC registered doctor, who discusses the treatment with you and takes your consent personally. Individual results vary. Please speak to a doctor before any cosmetic treatment.